Thursday, 23 July 2015

I have bad news. I have been without a sewing machine for two weeks now! I've been on Holiday in France to visit my dad who lives over there. It's a bit of a bummer that he moved out there last year, but his place over there is wow so I'm not complaining because it means I get to have some really lovely holidays! Now my sewing machine has also been put in for a service (the foot pedal has gone a bit haywire and grown a mind of it's own), so I've been using this sewing machine free time to indulge in a far more transportable craft, knitting!

I have a confession... I love knitting, but I have never actually managed to finish a garment. This is my third attempt to make something I can wear (scarves don't count). I always manage to get quite far into the project and then find that I have done something horrendously wrong and just can't face frogging it back and trying again. I'm feeling pretty good about this project though. It's a peacock eyes cardigan by Justyna Lorkowska that I'm making up in a lovely merino lambswool and cotton blend yarn called Coast in Aconite (which is actually a bit more of an orangey mustard in real life), which is really lovely to knit with.

I'm really enjoying knitting this and I'm finding it pretty challenging as it requires some techniques that I have never attempted before, like short rows. Short rows really scared me until I actually went and found out how to do them and found that they are actually not that bad! Also it knits top down in one piece, which I have never tried before (I'm hoping this will help avoid the problem with the cardigan I tried to knit before where I just couldn't get the arms to fit in the arm holes, they were just way too big!)

I've finished the peacock eye motifs now, which look way more complicated than they actually are, I found that if I'm methodical and write out all my steps then they aren't that bad. Going to start on the sleeve holes next. Fingers crossed!

Monday, 6 July 2015

I have a tendency to daydream. I get an idea in my head and it grows and grows. I nurture it with hours gazing out a window. I play around with it, build on it, embellish it. Then I want to make it real. Unfortunately, my skills do not always enable to make my ideas a reality. I usually live vicariously through looking at beautiful images on Pinterest or Instagram, or by reading all the lovely blogs out there written by amazing and inspiring creative people.

It has been this way with sewing. I dream up lots of beautiful and stylish clothes for me to make, but when get down to making them I get overwhelmed or disheartened when what I achieve doesn't meet the dream. This results in lots of UFOs.

I've made a decision. I'm going to take a step back. Start slowly. Nurture my skills and not the day dream. I've found the perfect book to help me. Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes from Tilly and the Buttons. More like love at first page. This book is fantastic. I love Tilly's enthusiasm, it;s so infectious that reading her book you just can't help but catch it. And her instructions are so clear there's no way you could get lost along the way.

The first project in the book is the Brigitte scarf. I was almost tempted to skip it and go straight to the beautiful dresses at the back of the book, but I stopped myself, determined to take it slowly, one step at a time. I made it out of some of the fabric left over from my Sorbetto top. I have to admit that it's not my usual style, but I love it! It's great for pretending that I'm Audrey Hepburn while doing the washing up.